Doctors getting closer to cure common cold

Baltimore, Wisconsin, February 13: Scientists seem to be getting closer to find cure for common cold in DNA review of virus family, says the new study.

Even Though, the goal of curing the common cold is not yet found, it appears to be within the realm of possibility as researchers have deciphered the genetic code of the ubiquitous virus.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin, the University of Maryland and the Craig Venter Institute, claim to have decoded the genetic blueprints of the common cold, bringing in a new ray of hope for asthma patients in United States. The research demystified the mystery behind how all the strains were related to one another, thus getting at the viral family tree.

“We are now quite certain that we see the Achilles’ heel, and that a very effective treatment for the common cold is at hand,” said Stephen B. Liggett, an asthma expert at the University of Maryland and co-author of the study.

“There has been brilliant work done trying to synthesize compounds against the common cold,” continued Dr. Liggett, director of the cardiopulmonary genomics program at the University of Maryland. “But we have not been working with a full knowledge of the genetics of rhinoviruses. Now that we have the full complement of known ones, we see there are subfamilies of rhinoviruses clustering together. The hope is that there could be a drug for each subfamily.”

The findings of the study published in the Feb.12 issue of the journal Science, unveil the nature of the human rhinovirus. “We needed the complete genome, so we decided ‘what the heck,’ we’ll take all the ones that haven’t been done and do the whole thing,” stated study co-author Ann Palmenberg of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“We know a lot about the common cold virus, but we didn't know how their genomes encoded all that information. Now we do, and all kinds of new things are falling out,” Palmenberg said.

It is well-known that there are hundreds of strains of human rhinovirus (HRV) that are grouped into two species, HRV-A and HRV-B. The latest research seems to add two more groups of species, namely HRV-C and HRV-D.

By mapping the entire genetic sequence, the researchers could analyze the ways to overcome the disease which attacks children about 10 times a year and adults nearly twice a year. Rhinoviruses, which cause about half of all colds, can also result in ear infections in children.

The researchers used about 99 virus samples collected by nasal swabs in doctors’ offices for two decades, which they sent to a private nonprofit organization, American Type Culture Collection.

It is quite unlikely to find a vaccine for all the types of viruses that cause a runny nose or congestion, as the 99 strains make it look impossible. However, to cure the common cold, scientists suggest the need for not one but several drugs since the virus mutates very efficiently.

“We may have to have four or five drugs, and you'd need a test at your doctor's office to know which drug will work,” said the senior author, Dr. Stephen B. Liggett, director of cardiopulmonary genomics at the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine in a telephone interview.

While, Dr. Palmenberg felt drugs could be developed to fight the more dangerous type C species of cold virus, which can lead to asthma or pneumonia.

The entire cost of hospitalizations, physicians’ visits, and over-the-counter remedies costs the nation nearly $60 billion.